1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments relate to methods for integrating functions of a telecommunications network into a data network.
2. Background of the Related Art
Telecommunications networks are used primarily for communication by telecommunication subscribers using telecommunication terminals such as telephones. Data networks are used primarily for networking computers, for example PCs with servers. Methods and devices whereby applications installed on computers control and monitor communication systems and communications connections are generally known as CTI solutions (CTI=Computer Telephony Integration). Both communication system ports and connections between ports can be controlled and monitored in this manner. The respective connections are temporary communication channels between two or more subscribers to one or more communication systems.
During operation of a CTI solution, data containing control and status information are transferred between a communication system and a CTI application (CTI application program). To this end, communication systems have special interfaces for the data exchange, the CTI interfaces. The respective applications or PCs likewise have corresponding CTI interfaces for this data exchange. For this purpose, the CTI interfaces of the communication system and those of the application are connected to each other via a data line or via a data network. Because the maximum number of CTI interfaces in a communication system is limited, a telephony server is often connected between the communication system and the applications.
Publication WO 98/51092 A 1 “Computer telephony integration gateway” shows a public communications network with multiple communication systems and a private communications network with several domains, each having computers with applications for controlling and/or monitoring resources of the public communications network. The arrangement shown has a “CTI Gateway” acting as the conversion device, which modifies the data transmitted from the public communications network to the private communications network for the purpose of controlling and/or monitoring resources, such that these data appear as the data for one single public communication system, and conversely modifies the data transmitted by the private communications network together with the applications to the public communications network, such that they appear to have been transmitted from a private communication network with only one application.
DE 000010159636 B4 describes a method for controlling and/or monitoring resources and connections using the exchange of data between communication systems and at least one application, wherein the data have identifiers that differentiate the resources and the connections, and the identifiers of the resources are converted during the exchange such that they present themselves as the identifier of one single communications system with subscriber connections for the one or for each application, characterized in that each of the identifiers of the connection between resources of different communications systems comprises one local connection number (call ID) of the communication system that participates in the connection and a global connection number (call ID) and in that through the conversion the global connection number (call ID) is transmitted to the application such that it cannot be differentiated by the application from a local connection number (call ID).